Choices
by PunkyRabbit
Summary: Tony has some choices to make as to who to save first after a car accident. Can he live with the decisions he made?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

Spoilers: Anything through season 2. Set after SWAK, but Twilight never happened.

Warnings: very mild cursing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to NCIS…not the basic premise, or any recognizable characters. I just like to take them out for a spin from time to time.

Author's notes: This story is complete, but will be posted regularly in parts. Special Thanks to my beta, BrynnH.

Feedback: ALWAYS welcome!

Choices

By PunkyRabbit

Part 1:

The day for NCIS had been pretty routine. The team was at the crime scene, in the backwoods areas of Maryland, which, of course, Tony didn't like. He checked his cell phone, and when he found that there was no cell service, or at least very little service, he commented, "Have you ever noticed how, in just about any movie, when the main characters, or really anyone for that matter, are out in the middle of nowhere, with little or no cell phone service…" he held up his phone, then, continuing, put it back in his pocket, "…and absolutely no one around for at least fifty miles…"

McGee cut him off, "We're not that far from civilization, Tony."

"Whatever. I'm just saying that whenever anyone is cut off from civilization, something bad always happens."

Kate and McGee both wrote their colleague off as paranoid, rolled their eyes, and continued doing the usual, taking photos, measurements, etc. They hadn't encountered anything unusual, which, for this particular NCIS team, was itself unusual. Ducky and Palmer arrived, arguing about which of the two of them was responsible for getting them lost, again. Even that had almost become a sort of routine for them, and thus still did not classify the day as unusual. Ducky estimated the time of death on the victim, and loaded him into the van.

When they were ready to return to NCIS Headquarters, Palmer tried to start the vehicle. He tried several times without success, so got out to check the engine. After what seemed like forever, Ducky became impatient and walked over to Gibbs and the rest of the team, who had bagged and tagged everything, and were also ready to leave. It had become obvious that a mechanic would have to be called to fix the van, so Ducky called over his shoulder, "You stay with the van, and call a mechanic, Mr. Palmer. I'm riding with Jethro."

Gibbs hopped into the driver's seat, as usual. Tony and Kate both ran toward the passenger side of the car, but Kate jumped in front of Tony and slid into the coveted seat first. She received a swat to the back of the head for her efforts. Still, she got the shot-gun position, so she felt it was worth it. McGee had gotten used to sitting in the back, so walked around the vehicle to get in the seat behind Kate. Tony had been trying to avoid sitting in the middle, but he knew it was inevitable, as he wasn't about to fight Ducky to avoid it, so slid into the middle seat. Ducky got into the seat behind Gibbs. So, the team and Ducky left, while Jimmy remained, trying to get the van to work, and waiting for the cavalry to arrive in the form of the office mechanic.

Several minutes later, the team drove across a long, wooden, two-lane, rickety looking bridge that crossed a good sized river that was a tributary to the Potomac. "Gibbs, why must you always take these short cuts?" Kate inquired.

"Because they're shorter."

"Well, you're gonna get us killed, one of these times." Kate retorted, mostly kidding.

McGee looked out his open window, enjoying the nice day. Tony looked out McGee's window at the water that lay below, and said, "You know, when I was younger, everybody had a hard time trying to keep me out of the water. All my friends used to tease me, and say that I was a fish."

"Fascinating" Kate sarcastically stated from the front seat.

It didn't seem to bother Tony. As he continued, Gibbs smiled at how Tony was simply rambling on and on about nothing in particular, McGee looked surprised at how Tony didn't miss a beat, even with Kate's comment, and Ducky was actually listening intently. "Yeah, I used to love the water, still do, but, since the plague, I can't hold my breath as long."

"Yes, the plague would have a major affect on your endurance, my boy." Ducky interjected.

"Yeah, but you know, Tony, the fact that your stamina isn't as good as it used to be, _could_ be due to the fact that you aren't as 'in shape' as you _think_ you are." Kate retorted, not being able to resist the urge to pick on Tony.

Tony leaned forward, and slapped Kate on the back on her head, as punishment for picking on him about his health. She turned around, as much as she could, and slapped Tony's knee, as that was the only thing she could reach. Gibbs rolled his eyes and smirked at the playful banter. Sometimes he felt like the father of two bratty children, and once again had to resist the urge to say 'don't make me pull this car over.'

Once off the bridge, the road continued to follow the river, and the team could see that it doubled back across it again just up ahead. The river was getting ever wider and deeper, as it neared the Potomac. Still focused on the water, Tony continued, "I used to be able to hold my breath underwater for almost three minutes…" Tony continued, seemingly un-phased.

"Wow," McGee deadpanned. It was the younger agent's turn to shoot Tony a sarcastic remark.

At the same time as McGee's comment, Kate, too, let out a derisive remark, "Amazing."

"…but now I can barely hold my breath for even one minute."

"That would be due to the severe scarring of your lungs, Tony… You know, that reminds me of a young lady I once knew. She could hold her breath for an average of three minutes. Imagine my surprise when she finally showed up on my table, and I had to rule the cause of death as an accidental drowning." It was, apparently, Ducky's turn to go on and on about nothing in particular.

As they approached the next bridge (which was in no better repair than the last), Tony noticed a rather large, dark-green truck behind them that had seemingly come from nowhere. The team noticed that the driver of the other vehicle was accelerating rapidly to close the gap between his automobile and theirs. Once he was immediately behind them, and both vehicles were on the rickety bridge, the driver of the truck whipped over into the other lane, which was, in fact, illegal, since the lines on the road dividing the two lanes of traffic, were double, solid, yellow lines. "What is this idiot doing?" Tony genuinely wanted to know. "You're not supposed to pass on the bridge."

As, Tony's remarks got the team to wondering, the truck swerved into their lane, colliding with Ducky's door, causing the car to run through the simple wooden railing on the side of the bridge, and crash into the water below.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Choices

Author: Punky Rabbit

AN, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Recap:

"What is this idiot doing?" Tony genuinely wanted to know. "You're not supposed to pass on the bridge."

As, Tony's remarks got the team to wondering, the truck swerved into their lane, colliding with Ducky's door, causing the car to run through the simple wooden railing on the side of the bridge, and crash into the water below.

"" "" "" "" "" ""

Part 2

The green truck moved back into the correct lane, and continued down the road at top speed. Not quite a minute later, it zoomed past an oncoming car. Of course, the driver of the oncoming car wondered why there was a vehicle going that fast on the back roads, and thus, was put on high alert, as he continued down the road.

"" "" "" "" "" ""

The team's car was immediately filled with water, which gushed in through McGee's open window, and the impact seemed to have knocked most of the occupants unconscious. Tony, by virtue of being in the middle, and not having a door to bang his head into, was still awake. As he struggled to get his seatbelt unbuckled, he noticed that Ducky, too, was still conscious. _'So much for the door theory,'_ Tony thought. The older man was struggling, trying to free himself, but his leg was trapped. When impacted, his door had buckled and folded over Ducky's leg, trapping him in the rapidly sinking vehicle. Tony quickly got himself free, and tried to help Ducky out, but the M.E. motioned for Tony to get the others out. He knew that Tony wouldn't be able to get him out, at least not very quickly, and by then the other three would have drowned. Tony, who was already running out of breath, started to argue with him, but finally realized the same thing and quickly unbuckled McGee's seatbelt.

As his body started breathing in some water, against his will, Tony moved over McGee, and through his open window, dragging his colleague with him. He swam to the surface, with McGee in tow. Gasping for air, he swam to shore and hoisted McGee up onto a small dock jutting out into a calm but deep spot in the river…no doubt used by the locals for fishing. He quickly checked for a pulse, hoping he would find one, for the obvious reason that he didn't want his colleague to die, but also, because, if he had to do CPR, he _definitely _wouldn't have enough air to get the others out, and if he had to do CPR, then the other two would probably be dead by the time he got to them. So, when he felt a pulse, and saw the rise and fall of Tim's chest, he immediately turned around, swam back out to about where he thought the car was, then taking the deepest breath he could, dove under to get the others.

"" "" "" "" "" ""

After only a few moments, the man who had passed the green truck, came to the bridge where the accident had happened. He continued onto it, and noticed the broken railing. He put on his flashers and pulled over, as much as he could, to see if he could see anyone in the water. He saw somebody lying on the shore, so called 911, as he ran down to the limp body. '_Fortunately_,' he thought, '_luck is with us and I can get a signal on the cell phone, here_.'

"" "" "" "" "" ""

By the time he reached the car again, Tony was already pretty much out of breath. He glanced at the back seat, and noticed that Ducky was still conscious, but wouldn't be for long. The older man was already pretty much out of breath and was struggling to stay awake. But Tony knew there was nothing he could do about it at that moment. He knew he had to get Kate and Gibbs out. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to hoist both of his colleagues over the backseat and out the window, so he braced against the two front seats and kicked against the windshield. It helped that the glass had apparently been shattered during the impact, either with the truck or with the railing on the bridge. After a few seconds, the windshield gave way, and Tony pushed it out of the way. He was struggling to keep from inhaling any more water, as he quickly unbuckled Kate and Gibbs, and fought to get himself and his two colleagues out of the front of the car, and to the surface. As he tried to muscle up enough strength to get back to the shore, he noticed someone hunched over next to McGee.

The Good Samaritan looked up when he heard splashing. He saw a man trying to keep himself and two other people above the water. Satisfied that the man on the shore was breathing, the would-be rescuer jumped into the water to assist Tony. When he reached him, the NCIS agent nodded in the direction of the sunken car, and attempted to tell the man that there was someone else in the car, but had practically no breath left at all so it came out as a breathy whisper, "There's…"

"There's someone else down there?" the man inquired, and when Tony nodded, the man asked, "You good?" nodding at Kate and Gibbs.

Tony lied and nodded, because he knew that if he responded in the negative, which he would never admit anyway, the man would help _him,_ and Ducky wouldn't have a chance. The other man dove under the water, and found the car quickly. He swam in through the front, and tried to free Ducky's leg. He knew he wouldn't be able to free it, but continued to try. By this time, the older man was unconscious, but the rescuer still found a fairly strong pulse when he checked.

"" "" "" "" ""

An ambulance with three EMTs in it was on its way back to the rescue squad building. The three friends, Tom, Mark, and Jacob, had just been on a run to free some children trapped in a nearby cave. All four children were fine, just scared, and the EMTs were feeling pretty good about the day so far, when they heard the dispatcher read out the location of the 911 call. They responded to the call, since they were just around the corner from it anyway, hoping their good luck would continue. They had heard that it was a car off a bridge, so expected to need the jaws, and other related equipment.

"" "" "" "" ""

Tony heard sirens as he continued to the dock, barely keeping his own head and Kate's above the water. He had a traditional rescue hold on Kate with his left arm. Gibbs he just had by the collar with that same hand to enable Tony to swim with his right. He wished he could stabilize the older man's head better, but he was simply dragging the man through the water, sometimes with his boss's head above the surface, and sometimes not. Finally, he reached the dock. As he tried to lift his colleagues onto it, the three EMTs, each with their share of equipment, came down the bank. The good Samaritan, later identified as Tyler White, who was attempting to help Ducky, resurfaced for air, and when he noticed the EMTs on the shore, shouted, "There's a man trapped in a car down here!"

Tom and Mark grabbed the jaws, jumped in the water, and, as Mr. White swam back to the dock, they swam down to the car. At the same time, Jacob lifted Gibbs up onto the pier. Then, feeling for a pulse, and finding nothing, he started CPR. The 911 caller approached Tony, took Kate from him, and lifted her up onto the platform. He assumed that since Tony was still conscious, he could keep himself from dropping back under the water, while White checked for a pulse on Kate. He found none, and immediately started CPR. Neither man noticed that Tony was fighting for breath and didn't have the strength to pull himself from the water, or, eventually, to even continue to hold onto the wooden beams that were holding up the dock. The EMT finally got Gibbs breathing, and turned to help Tony up. But just as he did so, Tony passed out, and sank limply back under the water.

Jacob immediately dove into the water, near where he had last seen Tony. While the EMT was underwater, retrieving the unconscious NCIS agent, Tyler finally got Kate breathing again. As he moved over to where Tony had been, the EMT resurfaced with the comatose NCIS agent in tow. The man on the dock took Tony from Jacob's arms and while he climbed out of the water, Tyler White tried to hoist Tony's limp body onto the dock. The EMT soon climbed out to a position beside the other man, and immediately helped him heave Tony out of the water.

As they were doing so, the other two EMTs finally surfaced with Ducky. The EMT and the man on the pier laid Tony down next to his colleagues. As the other two first responders approached the wharf, the driver moved to the edge to help them with the older man, when they got there. Jacob, who was checking Tony for a pulse, noticed that the man's breathing was heavily labored. He _did_ have a pulse, though, and was breathing on his own, so the EMT advanced to the edge of the water, near the Good Samaritan, to offer his help with what he _hoped_ was the _last_ injured person. Once the other two EMTs reached them, both Jacob and Tyler helped them get the older man onto the dock. Once they got him on the wooden platform, Jacob checked for a pulse then immediately started CPR, while the civilian rescuer helped the other two EMTs onto the dock. As soon as they, too, were on the shore, Jacob shouted to them, "Charge the paddles!"

Tom immediately obliged, while Mark got the oxygen. Mr. White stepped back and let them do their work. The two EMTs moved toward Ducky with the paddles, and the oxygen. Mark, seeing that Jacob was tiring, tapped the man on the shoulder to let him know that he and Tom would take it from there. Jacob stepped back, next to Tyler White and they both checked on the other four NCIS agents, wanting to do something useful, and knowing that there was nothing else that they could do to help at the moment.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1.

Part 3

"Please, please work." Palmer begged the van. The mechanic had arrived about ten minutes after the NCIS agents left. He had been working on the van for almost an hour, by now, and had gotten Palmer to try to start it several times, each time without success. Jimmy turned the key, yet again, and the engine roared to life. "Yes!" Palmer exclaimed. "Thank you!" He quietly addressed the van as he slipped out of the driver's seat, then, repeated his, "Thank you," to the mechanic as the other man put the hood down. Palmer, after a long wait, was finally on his way back to NCIS headquarters.

He arrived at NCIS, and unloaded the body. As he exited the elevator with the corpse, he noticed that the lights in autopsy were off. He thought that this was very odd, knowing that Ducky should, most likely, still be there finishing up work on other cases, even if he didn't have _this _body to work on yet. After depositing his charge in the autopsy room, he went to talk to Gibbs to see if the man knew where his old friend might be. As he stepped off the elevator on the correct floor, he noticed that none of the members of Gibbs' team were at their desks. He started to feel like something was going on, but decided that before he started to worry, he should go see if Abby had seen them, or if she knew of a meeting they might have been called to, or if, perhaps they were out on another case already.

He was greeted by the Goth girl's up-beat music, as usual. "Hey, Abby?"

"Oh, hi, Jimmy. Do you have some evidence for me?" She said, as she turned around, to face the ME's assistant.

"Um, no, uh, I-I, uh…no, not yet." He stuttered, and then continued, "Have you seen Dr. Mallard?"

She turned back to her work, as she answered, "Ducky? Nope, haven't seen him."

"Have you seen Gibbs, or any of his team?"

She squinted like she was thinking, while still leaned over her computer, then, she straightened up, turned around, and answered, "No, actually." She thought it a little odd that Palmer beat Gibbs down there.

Starting to worry, he inquired, "They normally come down here, when they first get back from a crime scene, right?"

"Yes, to bring down the evidence, why?"

"They should be here by now." He said more or less to himself.

"What are you talking about, Jimmy?"

"The van broke down, so Dr. Mallard left with Gibbs and his team, while I stayed to wait for the mechanic."

"Okay." She said as if to say, 'so, what's the problem?'

"That was about an hour and a half ago."

"So, they should have been here about an hour ago."

"Yeah."

"Well, hold on." She picked up the phone, and dialed Gibbs' cell phone number. "It's not ringing." She hung up, and tried Tony's phone, only to get the same outcome. She then tried Kate's and McGee's phone, but theirs weren't ringing either. She hung up the phone and started typing something into her computer. "I can't find them on GPS, which would mean that their phones are either off or damaged. But, since I'm not even getting their voice-mail, I'm gonna say that they're broken, somehow."

"So, it's safe to assume they're in trouble?"

"Probably. Here…" she shoved the phone at Palmer, and then went back to her computer, as she continued, "Keep trying their cell phones. I'll go check with the director, and make sure that he didn't just send them on another case already." As she turned to leave, she continued to herself, _'_

_Of course, that wouldn't explain the hinky thing with the phones, but I've got to try.'_

"OK", he said, as he started dialing.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Part 4

Kate woke up suddenly to find herself wearing a hospital gown and lying in bed in a white room. Her head hurt a lot, and she touched her forehead with her fingertips, and felt the coarse sutures and a cut that hurt like crazy when she touched it. _"Well, I'm in a hospital" _She thought. _"What happened, and how did I get this cut?" _She tried to remember what had happened. _"That truck. It hit us… I think. Oh, we were in a car accident, although it didn't seem very accidental. Well, where are the others. Are they… NO", _she cut herself off, _"I won't even __**think **__that they're dead…at least not until I'm told otherwise. But I still need to know where they are." _

"Well, it's good to see you awake. Hi, I'm Dr. Randall." A Doctor said as he entered the room, interrupting Kate's thoughts. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess. What happened?"

"That's a pretty nasty cut you got on your forehead, there." He said, gently, "Can you tell me your name?"

"Yeah," She knew medical personnel had a list of questions to ask patients with head injuries, so she responded, "I'm Special Agent Kate Todd, NCIS. What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"Well, I remember being on a bridge out in the middle of nowhere, and a truck hit us. That's all I remember."

"You were run off into the river. A man in another car happened to be passing by, and saw the broken railing. He called the ambulance when he saw someone lying on the bank where another man from your car had already pulled him out."

"Who, from our car?"

"Who pulled the other man out? I think his name is… Anthony DiNozzo."

"Tony. Is he okay?"

"He will be."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, his lungs were already damaged…"

"From the plague."

"And he pushed himself past the point when he ran out of air. We've got him on oxygen. He's still unconscious currently, but, I think he'll be fine, given time to heal."

"What about Gibbs, McGee, and Ducky?"

"Agents Gibbs and McGee will both be fine. They each have minor head wounds. Gibbs has a few cracked ribs, and agent McGee has a broken arm. All three of you were unconscious and unresponsive at the scene and you and Gibbs required CPR, so we'll be keeping you here for a little while, for observation, probably just overnight. But, I think all three of you will be fine."

"And Ducky?"

"Dr. Mallard was trapped in the car."

She tilted her head, afraid she knew what he was going to say, but she wanted to know, "Doc…"

"He's alive. He was relatively lucky…"

Kate let out a sigh of relief.

"The ambulance wasn't far away, they were able to get him free, and get him breathing again, before too long. He's got a broken leg, and he's very weak, but the lack of oxygen seems to have caused damage to his brain. He's still unconscious, and currently on a respirator. Even if he wakes up, there is a good chance that he will be severely impaired. He might not remember much…about anything: about who he is, who you are, or much of anything else. He may or may not remember how to talk, or walk. We really won't know how extensive the damage is until he wakes up…if he wakes up."

"Oh, my God." She said in almost a whisper.

"That is…" the doctor continued, "If he even makes it at all."

"How is that lucky?" she wondered aloud, as she blinked back tears.

"As long as he's alive, there is always hope," the doctor answered.

Kate couldn't deny that, but she was still worried about her friends, "Can I go see them?"

"Not right now. You're still pretty weak, yourself. Get some rest and you can go see them later."

"But…" she started to protest, but stopped, when the doctor put his hand up to stop her.

"Well, I've gotta go take care of my other patients. I'll be back later to check on you." He turned to leave.

"Oh, wait!" When he turned back around, she continued, "Do you have a pen and some paper I could borrow?"

"Sure" The doctor reached in his pocket and handed her a pad of paper and a pen.

She started writing something on the paper, "Abby will be worried about us. Could you call…" She finished writing and handed the doctor the paper. "…this number, for me, and tell Abby Scuito where we are?"

"Sure." He headed for the door, then, stopping, he turned back around and said, "Get some rest."


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1.

Part 5

After about fifteen minutes, Palmer stopped trying the NCIS agents' cell phones. He stood up to go and find Abby, to see if she had gotten any more answers than he had. As he reached for the elevator button, it slid open, and Abby stepped out. She looked less than thrilled.

Palmer had to know anyway, "What did you find out?"

"Absolutely nothing: the director doesn't know why they're not back yet, and he hasn't sent them out on another case." She walked over to her computer, and started clacking on the keys.

"I've been trying their phones for the past fifteen minutes or so, and haven't gotten any answers." Palmer informed her, trying to help, but knowing that that fact didn't help at all.

"I'm starting a search of all hospitals, and police stations in the area." Abby stated, really starting to get frustrated.

"'Police stations? Why would they be…?"

"They wouldn't normally be in the hospital either! But, obviously something is going on, and I don't want to miss any possibilities!" The exasperated Abby cut off the ME's assistant.

"Okay." He said in his defense.

As the tension in the room grew thicker, the phone started ringing. Abby pounced on it, like a cat on a live mouse. "Hello?" she tried to not sound too eager.

Palmer stood in anticipation, as the indistinct voice from the other side of the phone conversed with Abby.

"Yes, this is she…They are?!... Are they okay? ... Yeah, Thanks! ...Yeah, we'll be right there!" She hung up the phone and turned to Jimmy. "They're at the hospital." She grabbed her jacket, "Let's go!"

"" "" "" "" ""

About a half an hour later, Abby and Jimmy arrived at the hospital. Abby poked her head in the room that the female NCIS agent was in. "Kate?" she asked tentatively, not wanting to wake her if she was asleep.

"Abby!" Kate had been lying there, staring at the ceiling, feeling miserable. But when Abby and Palmer stepped in, she sat up and tried to look a little less gloomy.

"How are you?"

"Ok, I guess."

"What happened?" Palmer spoke up, causing Abby to turn around to look at him, then look back again to hear the answer.

Kate quickly brought her two friends up to speed on everything that had happened, describing the accident and what she knew about Gibbs, DiNozzo's and McGee's condition, as well as her own. Then she became silent, and just couldn't go on. The only thing left was to tell them about Ducky, and she just couldn't say it. Saying it might make it real, and she just _couldn't_ accept that it might be real.

Seeing that Kate wasn't going continue on her own, Abby prompted her to carry on, "What about Ducky?"

Kate took a deep breath, stealing herself to put into words all the horrible predictions the doctor had made regarding Ducky, and then began, "The doctor doesn't expect him to make it." Her voice caught and she had to fight back tears before she could continue. "He was trapped in the car and the lack of oxygen damaged his brain." Abby had thrown her hand to her mouth, and Palmer had taken hold of the Goth's shoulder, but whether it was to give comfort or to receive it, neither of them were really sure. Kate continued, "The doctor says that even if he _does _make it, he probably won't be himself anymore…he may not even remember anything. He might have brain damage."

Palmer and Abby both remained in Kate's room, for a while. Then, after about a half an hour or so, Jimmy went to sit with Ducky for a little bit. But Abby stayed with Kate until her battered friend fell asleep, which was only about another half an hour. It wasn't long until Abby was asleep as well, in the chair next to Kate's hospital bed.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Part 6

Gibbs woke up, not long after that. He remembered the car crash, so it made sense that he was in the hospital. But he didn't know how he got there or where his team was. His chest hurt, where his ribs were broken, and he knew that he probably shouldn't be out of bed. But, he couldn't just lie there, not knowing if his team was alright or not. So, he slipped out of the hospital bed, and went looking for his team, cursing the stupid hospital gown he was wearing. He was sure that these things were designed just so that patients would stay in bed and hide the obviously missing part of the gown in the back. But he was a marine, he was stubborn, and he was desperate to find out about his team, so a little thing like having his backside hanging out was _not_ going to deter him. He grabbed the back of the offensive garment, and wandered up to the nurses' station.

"Hey, you shouldn't be up." The lady, behind the counter stood up to face the silver-haired man.

"You're probably right. But, I need to know the people on my team are okay." The lady simply stared at him, trying to convince him to get back in bed. "Look, I don't need your help to find them. It sure would make it easier, but if you don't help me, I will search this entire hospital, until I find them."

The lady behind the counter knew she had lost, so, she sat back down, let out an exasperated sigh, and asked, "What's the name?"

Gibbs smirked, and gave her each of the names. He wrote down each of the room numbers, as he got them for each of his team members, plus Ducky. He clutched the piece of paper, and, since it was closest, started towards Kate's room. He didn't notice when the nurse called his doctor and informed him of what had just happened.

"" "" "" "" ""

As he got near Kate's room, he saw someone familiar roaming around at the end of the hall, also wearing the fashionable hospital gown. Both figures were approaching Kate's room, from opposite directions, and as he got closer, Gibbs confirmed that it was Tim. "McGee."

"Hey, Boss. What happened?"

"You don't remember? We were run off that bridge."

"Right."

"I don't know yet how we got out."

"How are Kate, Tony, and Ducky?"

"I don't know that yet either. I was just on my way to check on Kate."

"Can I come with you?"

"You probably shouldn't be out of bed." Gibbs had noticed that McGee's right arm was in a cast and sling.

"Well, neither should you."

"Probably not." He continued in his head, _"but I need to know how they are." _He knew that McGee needed to know, too. So, he sighed, and as he turned towards Kate's room, he said, "Come on."

McGee hopped into action, as he fell into line right behind his boss.

As they entered the room, they noticed that Abby was sitting next to Kate's bed, sound asleep. Gibbs moved toward the bed to check on Kate, while McGee let the gap between the two of them increase. Abby, having gotten pretty good at her Gibbs radar, woke up as he passed her. She looked up, and talked quietly, so as to not wake Kate up, "Gibbs?"

"Yeah, Abby." She turned her head to McGee, then said, "McGee!"

McGee nodded as Kate opened her eyes, waking up to even the tiny amount of noise. "Gibbs. McGee." She smiled, glad that they were okay.

While Kate and Abby took turns filling the two men in on Tony's and Ducky's condition, the doctor walked in. Gibbs stood, expecting a confrontation. The doctor started in on how Gibbs and McGee should be in their own rooms, and how they wouldn't be released until the next morning. Gibbs threatened to check out AMA (against medical advice) and the doctor agreed that they could visit the other rooms, if they would take it easy and submit to having their vitals checked by the nurses on a regular basis. Gibbs figured it was a good compromise, and asked Abby if she could go get them some cloths so they could stop displaying their behinds to the world. Abby got a sly smirk on her face and told them that she had brought extra cloths for each of them from their lockers at NCIS, but had left them in her car. She disappeared to go get them, but returned soon. She handed out all the clothes and there was an awkward, depressing moment when she found Ducky's in the pile. When they were finished dressing, Kate requested to go see Tony. So, Gibbs went to check on Ducky, and the other three relocated to Tony's hospital room, where Gibbs later met up with them.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimers: See Part 1

Part 7

In the morning, Palmer, who had fallen asleep in Ducky's room, went to find Abby, and to check on everybody. When he didn't see Kate or Abby in Kate's room, he checked in Tony's room, which was just next door to Kate's. He found Tony, still unconscious, lying in the hospital bed, Kate, asleep in a chair on one side of Tony, and McGee asleep in the chair on the other side on the bed. Abby was asleep on the window ledge, leaned against the wall by the window. Gibbs was sitting on the sink, in the corner of the room, with his arms crossed in front of him, watching Tony and everyone else sleep. Jimmy figured that Gibbs probably had fallen asleep in there at some point, but had just woken up first. Actually, Gibbs had been up most of the night, fighting with various hospital personnel for the right to have his team in here with Tony, instead of in their respective hospital beds, or the waiting room. The team leader had left Ducky in Jimmy's capable hands (largely because the ICU nurses had insisted that Ducky could only have one visitor at a time) and felt he needed to watch over his senior field agent. He knew all the others felt the need as well. Now that Jimmy was here, Gibbs looked at the ME's assistant lingering in the doorway, and, with his arms still crossed, nodded for the younger man to come in and sit down. So, he did. He perched on the other side of the large window sill, opposite Abby.

"" "" "" "" ""

About an hour later, everything was mostly the same as it had been, except Palmer had been added to the list of people who were asleep. Tony stirred, and opening his eyes, blinked at how bright it was. As Gibbs got up off the sink and walked over to Tony's bed, and stood next to McGee, the recovering NCIS agent noticed that everyone was asleep around his hospital bed. "Hey, Boss." he said, weakly.

"Hi, Tony."

Kate stirred, and finally opened her eyes, when she heard Tony's voice. "Tony, you're awake!" Kate stated, quietly, but enthusiastically. Abby woke up, as Tony responded to Kate's obvious statement.

"Yeah, of course I am." Tony said groggily, and a little overconfidently. Abby leaned over and elbowed Palmer, to wake him up. Tony noticed the stitches on Kate's forehead, and the sling on McGee's arm. He couldn't tell by looking at him, that Gibbs was injured, but didn't see how anyone could have gotten out of that crash without at least _some _damage. He didn't know the full extent of his teammates' injuries, but since they were in his room as opposed to their own, he figured they were ok. "How is Ducky?" Tony inquired about the only one from the car crash that he didn't see. He was really afraid that he hadn't made it, but he needed to know for sure, either way.

McGee woke up, just in time for Kate and Gibbs to exchange glances, trying to decide who would tell Tony the news about Ducky. "They don't think he's going to make it." Gibbs started.

"What?!" Even though he had expected that that might be the answer, he was still shocked to hear Gibbs actually say it.

"He's still unconscious, and on a respirator. They think the lack of oxygen may have caused severe brain damage…"

"…Which is what makes the doctor think, that even if he _does,_ through some miracle, wake up, he won't remember much of anything, maybe not even who he is, or who we are, or even how to talk", Kate added to Gibbs' statement.

"I should've gotten him out first." Tony started voicing his opinion that Ducky's condition was his fault.

"Tony, from what I gather, that really wasn't an option." McGee said gently.

"Yeah, you wouldn't have been able to get him out anyway." Abby added. "They needed the jaws to get him out."

"And if you had tried, it would have taken too long and everyone else would have drowned." Palmer inserted.

Tony heard them, and that is what he had thought at the time. But, he still felt responsible, "Yeah, but he's older, and didn't have as much lung capacity as you guys. I should've at least tried."

"The other man did." Kate input, "and he couldn't get him free."

"I figured that since he was conscious, he could have possibly gotten himself free, while I got you guys out." Tony resumed.

"He was conscious?" Jimmy inquired.

"At first, yeah. And he made me leave him to get you all out." Tony continued along with his guilt trip.

"See?" Abby started, "Even the duck man knew that it would be a waste of your breath and theirs…" she motioned to the three NCIS agents, standing around him, "to try to free him first, when it was impossible anyway without the jaws of life."

"But, I didn't even try. I didn't_ know_ that it was impossible. I should've at least tried."

"Tony," Kate gently touched his arm, trying to get him to listen to her. "You did everything that you could."

Just as Tony was starting to believe his friends, that he did the right thing, Gibbs input, "You should've left me and gotten Ducky out." He said softly.

The entire room grew silent. "What?" Kate asked.

"He should've left me and gotten Ducky out." Gibbs repeated a little louder and a fair amount more angry.

"Like we've been trying to tell Tony, he wouldn't have been able to get him out anyway." McGee stated.

"Well, like Tony said, maybe he should've tried." Gibbs' voice was raised now. He was upset that his friend wasn't going to make, and his emotions poured out in the form of anger…directed at Tony.

"I'm sorry, boss." Tony was torn. He didn't want to upset Gibbs. But, he also didn't want Ducky to die. He couldn't change anything at that point. But, he wished he could. "I screwed up. I made the wrong choice."

Gibbs ignored Tony's apology and yelled, "You're damned right, you did," before he stormed out of the hospital room to go sit with Ducky.

The people in Tony's room were shocked. They understood that Gibbs was worried about Ducky. They also knew that he would never let that show. That's why he took it out on Tony. But, that fact certainly didn't make Tony feel any better.

They all sat in silence for a few moments, when Tony broke it. "You know, I think Gibbs is right. It's my fault Ducky's gonna die." The broken man turned away from most of his friends, and closed his eyes.

The others expressed their surprise at practically the same time.

"What?!" Palmer was shocked.

"Whoa, now." Kate said.

"No, it's not your fault, Tony." McGee stated.

"Back that up." Abby said.

They were all trying to say the same thing: that it wasn't at all Tony's fault. But, instead of all talking at once this time, they took turns trying to convince him of that fact.

"It's not your fault if Ducky dies, Tony." Kate started.

"Definitely not your fault." Abby added.

"I can see where you feel that you should've tried to help him…" McGee input.

"Although, ultimately, it wouldn't have helped anything." Palmer inserted.

"But, it's not your fault." McGee continued.

"You did what you thought would save the most of us." Kate interjected.

"Which you did." Abby contributed.

"If you hadn't done what you did, we'd all be gone, _including_ Ducky." McGee summarized their point.

Tony wanted to believe them. He really did. He had thought at the time that he had made the right decision. He saw Ducky's reasoning. He even agreed with him at the time, though it almost killed him to leave the older man there. But Gibbs said it was Tony's fault, so it must be. He'd never known Gibbs to be wrong about things like that, and the man certainly wouldn't have said that to Tony if it wasn't true. So, despite what everyone else was saying, it _was_ Tony's fault that Ducky was going to die. And he'd have to live with that for the rest of his life. He couldn't face anyone right now…may never be able to again…so he just kept his back turned and his eyes closed as the others continued their futile effort of trying to convince him that he wasn't a virtual murderer.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Part 8

By now Gibbs, McGee, and Kate had been officially released from the hospital. Not that anyone actually _left_. Gibbs and the rest of his team, wouldn't hear of leaving their friends' sides. Abby had gone back to the lab to work on the car, trying to find any lead as to who did this, and had left strict orders for someone to notify her if there was any change in Ducky's condition. Gibbs had contacted headquarters to find out which team had been assigned their case. He knew them all personally, and had faith in their investigative skills, so he felt comfortable, for now, leaving the case in their hands, while he saw to his oldest friend.

"" "" "" "" ""

Abby had been working on the car all night, and had found nothing of interest. All she could really find was evidence that the team's car had been hit by a large, green vehicle. She had gone through all the rest of the forensic evidence…what little there was, and had some obscure tests running, just to feel like she was doing something. But, none of those needed her to be at NCIS, so she had come back to the hospital and was planning on staying there. Tony was one of her closest friends, and he would _not_ be alone in the hospital, if she had anything to say about it. Of course, it looked like most of the rest of the team felt the same way.

Gibbs had secretly checked in on the others, either by peaking in when most were asleep, or asking at the nurses' station. He felt it was his responsibility to look after them. He especially wanted to make sure Tony was alright, at least physically. He hadn't meant to go off on him as hard as he did. But, Ducky was his best friend, whom he had known for a very long time. Now, he was going to lose that friend. His emotions overwhelmed him, and instead of showing fear, or sorrow, he showed anger. The only place to direct all that anger, was toward Tony. Gibbs would gladly take Ducky's place, if he were able. He understood why Tony chose the course of action that he did, but, he was still upset. Gibbs stayed with Ducky throughout the course of the next day. The ME's condition didn't change. He was still unconscious and unresponsive.

When McGee was visiting Ducky, Gibbs had told the younger man which team was working the case, and what had been done so far. Tim had passed along that information to Kate, and they both decided they weren't needed right now at NCIS. They _did _feel they were needed _here. _They couldn't stand to see Tony hurting inside, and knowing that their boss was responsible for making him feel that way. They both understood why Gibbs had blown up at Tony like that, but they still needed to try and make them both feel better, and come to terms with what was happening.

They all knew that Gibbs would be staying with Ducky all day and probably most of the night. They all figured that Gibbs had probably checked on them, to make sure they were all okay. They all also hoped that their boss would forgive Tony. They figured that, maybe, by going to visit Ducky, they could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. They could visit their friend, but at the same time, they hoped to be able to convince their boss to stop blaming Tony. But, they all knew that ultimately, ironically, Ducky was the only one who could even remotely talk Gibbs out of that sort of thing.

Tony continued feeling responsible for their friend's inevitable demise. He knew that his friends were right. If he had tried to get Ducky out first, the older man may have survived, depending on how long it actually took to free him, but by then most, if not all, of the other three would certainly be dead. He probably would be too. He knew he wouldn't have stopped trying until everyone was out of the car, but his damaged lungs would certainly have given up _long_ before he could have done that. In his own mind, he _knew _he couldn't have made any choice other than the one he _had _made, but, Gibbs had blamed him for Ducky, and Gibbs was the one that Tony always looked to for advice on that sort of thing. He could have handled it if McGee or Kate, or even Abby had blamed him for Ducky's condition. He would have hated it, but he could have handled it. But not Gibbs. Tony looked to Gibbs for guidance, for acceptance, but he was finding none there now, and it was just about killing him.

"" "" "" "" ""

On the second morning of waking up in the hospital, while the others were still asleep in Tony's room, Kate snuck out to go visit Ducky, as well as talk to Gibbs. She found her boss asleep next to Ducky's bed, holding a cup of coffee. She sat down at the other side of the bed. Gibbs woke up when Kate sat down. The two of them sat in an uncomfortable stillness, staring at their friend.

"Gibbs…" She reluctantly broke the silence. "You've got to stop blaming Tony. He couldn't help what happened. I think he made the right choice. He risked his own life just trying to get _any _of us out. The doctor said he really pushed his lungs past the limit. They still have him on oxygen, Gibbs. He's _still _struggling to breathe and this all happened two days ago. He tried to get _everyone_ out, Gibbs. You know he loves Ducky just as much as the rest of us do. Ducky _told_ him to get us out. You can't blame him for this!"

"None of that changes anything," Gibbs stated gruffly.

"No. It doesn't. But, making Tony feel guilty won't change anything either. Tony's distraught over this, Gibbs. You know he values your opinion over everyone else's. None of _us_ can convince him this wasn't his fault. This is killing him, Gibbs."

"I know. I just…if I could trade places with him…" Gibbs changed who they were talking about, by indicating their unconscious friend. "…I would…in a heartbeat."

"I know, but you've _got_ to know that any one of the rest of us would do the same thing, if given half a chance, _including_ Tony… quite possibly _especially_ Tony. None of us want to see anything bad happen to Ducky. But, what's done is done. No sense in Tony taking the blame for it. He's the reason why any of us are alive right now."

"Yeah. You're right. But…" Gibbs started an explanation.

"It's a defense mechanism."

"What?" He was confused.

"Showing your emotions in the form of anger. You are upset that your friend is dying…understandable…we all are. You, at least subconsciously, didn't want to let us see that you were vulnerable in any way. But, you couldn't just bottle up your emotions, so you presented them in the form of anger instead of sorrow, or fear. You needed somewhere to direct all that anger…you subconsciously blamed Tony anyway, so, he became the target." She explained.

Gibbs stared at her, as if to ask how she possibly knew that.

"I'm a profiler, Gibbs. I'm _supposed_ to be able to read people." She informed him.

He nodded. She was right in a way. He didn't really want to hurt Tony. But, there was really nothing he could do about it then, or so _he _felt. They went back to their silence. But, this time, it was more comfortable, since the issue had been, if not resolved, at least addressed.

Gibbs had convinced the doctors to allow two of Ducky's friends to stay with him in his room in ICU. So, the leader stayed in the room, and the others took turns, as the second person, sitting in Ducky's room. Abby stayed in Tony's room, for most of the day to try and convince him that it was not his fault about Ducky. Tony's condition was going downhill. He refused to eat; he refused to talk much at all. He had pretty much given up, and his damaged lungs weren't healing as well as the doctor had hoped. There was talk of putting in a feeding tube if the man didn't start eating soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Part 9

While Gibbs and McGee were sitting in Ducky's room, Ducky stirred, and groggily opened his eyes. "Hey, Ducky." Gibbs said gently, but enthused. They had started giving up hope that Ducky would even wake up, and here his eyes were open. Gibbs knew it could only be a good sign.

"I'm gonna go let the others know that he's awake." McGee stated as he darted out of the room to apprise his colleagues. Palmer and Abby were in Tony's room. Kate was in the waiting room outside Ducky's room. "Kate, you can go in for a second. I have to go tell the others." He sounded excited.

"Tell the others what?" She asked.

"Ducky's awake!" he continued on his path to tell the others.

While Gibbs was alone with Ducky, he had tried to tell the older man where he was. He told him about the accident, and told him to hang in there. But, after looking around the room for a moment or two, never once making eye contact with Gibbs, the older man fell back to sleep.

By the time Kate got to Ducky's room, he was asleep again, but she chose to look at the whole thing as a good sign. He _had_ woken up, even if it wasn't for long. If he did it once, he could do it again, and the next time maybe he'd stay awake. McGee had returned to the ICU waiting room with Palmer and Abby only to find that Ducky had gone back to sleep. If they had ever had any hope of getting Gibbs out of his friend's room, they knew it was gone now. Ducky had woken up, however briefly, and Gibbs would be at his side until he woke up again. Abby decided to go back to Tony's room, and the other three went back to taking turns being the second person in Ducky's room.

"" "" "" "" ""

Several hours later, Abby was still in Tony's room. The Goth girl looked out the large window that dominated the one wall. She had been talking to Tony all day but he rarely talked back, and he looked pretty worn out. So, she told him that he should try to get some sleep. He closed his eyes and attempted to do just that. She left the curtains open and perched herself precariously on the chair next to Tony.

After about a half an hour, Tony was finally asleep. He was usually a pretty light sleeper, so Abby tried not to make too much noise. She let her mind wander, as she continued watching her unconscious friend.

Her thoughts were yanked abruptly back to her friend, when she caught a glimpse of a tiny red light on the side of Tony's head. She immediately recognized it as a laser light, commonly used to acquire a long-range target with a rifle.

"Tony!" She screamed as she sprang up from her chair and whipped around, to look out the window for where the light originated.

"" "" "" "" ""

Gibbs and Kate were sitting silently in Ducky's room; the others were sitting in the waiting room outside. Gibbs was perched on the windowsill. He heard a gunshot, and instinctively whipped his head around, in the direction of the window, to look for the shooter. Gibbs knew where Tony's room was in reference to Ducky's room. Ducky's room was on the same side of the hospital, and was one floor up. He saw a muzzle flash, as he heard another gunshot. Kate came to the window, to assess who the target was. Gibbs saw how the weapon was lined up. It was aimed toward Tony's room.

During the commotion, McGee rushed in the room, afraid that someone in that room had been the target. The shooter fired one more shot, then ran off, so as not to get caught. Gibbs rushed out of the room, with Kate in tow. McGee quickly fell in step and as they all ran past the waiting room, Gibbs hollered, "Palmer, stay with Ducky." The three agents bounded toward the staircase.

Gibbs ran down the stairs, taking two, or more, at a time. He burst through the door on Tony's level. The other two agents were directly behind their boss, struggling to keep up. The leader rushed into Tony's room, immediately joined by Kate and McGee, and what they found, was unsettling. They saw Abby's limp body, on the floor, covered in blood. Tony was leaned over her, trying to protect her, but also trying to make sure that she was okay. He, too, was covered in blood.

Gibbs shot McGee a look, in which was his silent order. McGee immediately went to get help. Although, with all that noise, and the three agents running down the hall to Tony's room, help was already on the way. Gibbs leapt to Abby's side. Tony tried to hoist himself up, to get out of the way, but stumbled, and smacked his left shoulder on the back of the chair. He grabbed his shoulder and winced in pain, as he tried to regain his balance.

Kate rushed to his side. "Tony!" She put her arm around him, and eased him into the chair. "Are you Ok?" She saw the blood all over him, and was worried.

"It's all my fault." He ignored his colleague's question. He was looking at the Goth girl, covered in blood.

"Tony." Kate was concerned. Tony still didn't make eye contact with her. "Tony, are you ok?"

He had ripped off the oxygen-filled nasal canula, in order to get to Abby, and now he was struggling even more to breathe. "Yes, Kate. I'm fine." His gaze was still fixed upon Abby's limp body.

The female agent noticed that he didn't sound 'fine'. "Tony." She said in a stern tone, causing him to look at her. She noticed the displaced oxygen and moved Tony toward the bed in order to replace it. She stared at large amount of blood that covered her colleague.

Tony, answering the question, asked by Kate's concerned expression, continued, "Most of the blood is not mine." He glanced back at Abby. Kate gave him a look that let him know that she was worried for him, and that she wanted to know where he was hurt. He gave up resisting, and indicated his shoulder, and Kate looked at it. "Kate, I'll be fine." He protested. She put up her finger to let him know that she was going to help him, whether he liked it or not. He sighed, and moved his hand, letting her apply pressure to the wound. While Kate was helping him, Tony watched as Gibbs helped Abby.

He checked her for a pulse, as Tony already had, and concluded that she was still alive. His attention was then directed to the blood that was gushing out of the hole in her abdomen. He immediately applied pressure to the wound.

Several medics rushed in with a gurney, and hoisted Abby onto it. Another one helped Tony into a wheelchair. They were both taken off to god-knows-where to be patched up. Gibbs and McGee stayed by Abby, and Kate stayed by Tony. None of them were permitted into surgery with them, but stayed in the waiting room on that hall. McGee had to go tell Palmer what was going on, but then immediately returned, without Palmer, since the ME's assistant had opted to stay with Ducky.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1.

Part 10

Several hours later, both Tony and Abby were taken to their separate hospital rooms. They couldn't move Tony back into the room he had been in, because it was now a crime scene that NCIS needed to process.

The doctor told the worried, sleep-deprived agents about their friends' conditions. "Agent DiNozzo is going to be fine. The bullet went straight through, and didn't cause any _permanent _damage. And Miss Scuito…well, she was very lucky. The bullet missed all her major organs, as well as her spinal cord. So, in time, she too, will be fine. It was just a stroke of luck that neither bullet hit the oxygen tank. Neither of them would be alive in that case."

Palmer remained in Ducky's room. McGee and Gibbs stayed in Abby's room, and Kate stayed with Tony.

"" "" "" "" ""

Tony woke up several hours later. He still felt pretty lousy from the crash, but now he also had a sharp, throbbing pain in his left shoulder. He noticed the sleeping Kate in the chair beside his hospital bed. He didn't know where or how Abby was, or if she was even alive. He figured that McGee, Gibbs, and Palmer were with Ducky, or maybe with Abby, if she _was _still alive.

He didn't know why the shooter tried to kill him, but he was fairly confident that the man was trying to kill _him, _not Abby. After all, Abby got shot when she moved in front of Tony's bed, which would seem to indicate that _Tony,_ not Abby was the target. He lay in the silence for a long time; partially not wanting to wake Kate (he knew she hadn't had much sleep the past couple of days). But, he also felt guilty for what happened to Abby, just as he did for Ducky. He just kept screwing up and his friends kept paying the price.

"Kate." He finally said softly. He needed to know what happened to Abby. Even the slightest noise was enough to wake the NCIS agent.

She jerked her head up, and responded groggily. "Yeah?"

He was staring out in front of him, at nothing in particular. When Kate responded, he looked at her and started speaking. "How's Abby?" His voice sounded so pitiful and worried, that it nearly broke his colleague's heart.

"Doctor says that the bullet missed most of her internal organs, as well as her spinal chord." She was trying to help mend her friend's solemn condition. She wasn't succeeding.

"So, she'll be alright?" He still sounded miserable.

"Yeah. The Doctor seems to think so, anyway."

They sat in silence for a moment, Tony staring back out into space. Kate tried to stay awake; she could tell that there was still something on Tony's mind. But, she was tired, and without realizing it, started dozing back off, when Tony spoke again. "This is my fault, too." His gaze didn't leave its position, locked on absolutely nothing.

"No, it's not." Kate sat up, and promptly interrupted, before he could further condemn himself for something beyond his control.

"You're wrong." He stated. Before she could respond, he continued with his reasoning. "That bullet was meant for _me._ Somebody had a big enough grudge to want to shoot _me._ And Abby got hurt for it."

"That hardly makes it your fault." She was adamant.

"It _is _my fault, Kate." He looked directly at her that time. "_I _am supposed to be the one that took that bullet…not her. She's never done anything to anybody. She's lying there with a hole in her back, because of _me._ _I _did something to merit this, not her." He was overwhelmed with emotions. He was furious at whoever did this. But, at the same time he was sad that Abby was hurt, and blamed himself for it.

"You can't hold yourself accountable for someone else's actions."

"Maybe not. But, it is still my fault."

"God, Tony. You're sitting there kicking yourself, as if _you_ had pulled the trigger." He just looked at her. He didn't really see where she was going with that line of reasoning. But he knew that she would keep trying to drill whatever the point was into his head, until he got it. "It's not you're fault."

"But…"

"No." She wouldn't let him continue on his guilt trip. "If you think this is your fault, you're an idiot." When that got no response from Tony, whatsoever, she tried for a little levity. "But whether or not you are an idiot is beside the point." That didn't work, so she just restated the point. "You didn't shoot her, right?"

"Right! I would never…" He said defensively.

"Ok. Did you _want_ her to get hurt?" She continued.

"God, no," he said defensively before he figured out what she was doing.

"Then,_ how_ is this your fault?" She was concluding her point.

Tony didn't answer, but looked just as crushed as he had been. He went back to staring at nothing.

After a while of silence, Kate fell back to sleep and Tony was left with his own thoughts, until he acquired another visitor.

"Hey, Tony." McGee peaked his head in around the corner.

"Hi, McGee." Tony sounded kind of ticked, although it was mostly at himself, for letting this happen to his friend.

McGee took a step back, and looked at Kate. She had awakened from her doze immediately and nodded for him to continue, and he took her cue. "Um… uh…" He started reluctantly.

"Spit it out, McGee." Tony still wouldn't make eye contact.

"Umm… I just… umm… I just wanted to see if you were OK."

"Of course I'm Ok! Why wouldn't I be?! _I _seem to make it through all of these things just fine. It's just my _friends_ who aren't okay!" He snapped, and McGee jumped back. He didn't mean to upset him. Kate gave McGee a look that told him that it wasn't anything he had done that caused Tony to be upset. Tony sighed. He hadn't meant to snap at McGee like that. "I'm sorry, McGee. It's just…"

"I understand." McGee responded.

The Doctor walked in to check on Tony. "How are you feeling today?"

"Like I let my friends down." Tony stated miserably. Everyone was silent. No one knew what to say after that. "Hey, Doc…" He started.

"Yeah?"

"Um… Can I go see her? Abby, that is."

"Well, she's currently unconscious, but, as far as her condition is concerned, I don't see why you couldn't, once you…."

"Great!" Tony started to get out of his hospital bed.

"Ah, ah, ah." The Doctor protested. "Not so fast. _ You_, however, don't need to be going anywhere, just yet."

"Well, you're wrong. I _need _to go see Abby."

"Tony," the doctor started gently. "Your body is still _extremely _weak. The fact that you haven't been eating anything doesn't help much. And you're still on oxygen."

Tony ripped the canula from his nose and said, "I _need _to go see her. I owe her that much."

"Is there any reason why he absolutely can _not_ go?" Kate asked the Doctor. "Just for a short visit?"

"Well, no. But…"

"Then, let him go." McGee interjected.

The Doctor looked like he was contemplating it, so Kate continued. "We all know he's going to go, with or without your permission. So, you might as well give it to him."

"Okay." He turned to Tony. "_If _you eat your lunch, and you keep your oxygen on, I'll see about setting you up with a portable unit and you can see her for a short visit. Then it's right back here so we can monitor you."

Tony grumbled about all the conditions, but finally capitulated. "Fine." He knew that that was the only way he was going to be able to see her anytime soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Part 11

Kate wheeled him into Abby's room. Gibbs immediately left to go back to Ducky's room. He had been staying, to make sure Abby was safe, but he knew that she would be just as safe with Kate and McGee there. He wasn't so sure about Tony. He knew he wouldn't hurt her on purpose, but the leader still felt that Tony was the cause of Ducky's condition, and now Abby's as well.

Any lift in spirits that Tony had been feeling about getting to see Abby, immediately evaporated when Gibbs couldn't even stand to be in the same room with him.

Kate parked the wheelchair next to Abby's bed, then placed herself in a chair on the other side of the bed, as did McGee. They sat in silence for a long while.

Abby stirred and drowsily opened her eyes. Tony abruptly broke the silence. "Abby!" He said excitedly, cluing the others in on their friend's consciousness.

"Abby." Kate sat up.

"Hey, Abby." McGee said gently.

Abby nodded at Kate and McGee then looked at Tony. "Tony…" she winced as just that little bit of movement caused her pain. She took a deep breath; she obviously wasn't done. "It's not your fault what happened."

The three NCIS agents blinked in surprise at how well she knew Tony. Kate and McGee sat back to let the Tony and Abby converse.

"_Wow! She sure does know me pretty well."_ Tony thought then said aloud. "Kate's been trying to tell me the same thing."

"Have you been listening to her? 'Cuz she's right, you know."

He forced a chuckle. "But, you wouldn't be hurt, if I hadn't ticked off whoever's doing this."

"Tony, if I hadn't been there, you would've been dead."

"What?"

"The laser sight on the rifle was lined up on your head. You were asleep, and didn't have a clue. I'm _glad_ I was there, Tony. I'm _happy_ with the fact that I took the bullet that would've ended your life. And I would gladly do it again. So, stop beating yourself up about it." He nodded in acknowledgement. "And if it makes you feel any better, you got shot too. Remember?" She smiled and nodded toward his arm.

He chuckled, and noticed that his colleagues had a point. He still felt like he was responsible, as he still did with Ducky. But, they had a point. He let it drop, for then, at least. Feeling this guilty was just adding to everyone's worries. They didn't need that, so, for them, he would try to put his feelings on the back burner for now.

They sat in silence for a short period of time, then Abby broke it. "What happened to Ducky also wasn't your fault. I know you feel responsible, but it wasn't your fault." She noticed that Tony still looked lost, and helpless, like he didn't know what to think. She also noticed that Tony wanted to go see Ducky, but he didn't want to leave her either. "Go see him, Tony."

"What?"

"Go see Ducky. It might make you feel better."

"But…"

"I'll be fine. I've got McGee with me." She smiled and nodded for him to go on.

He nodded, and Kate wheeled him in to Ducky's room. They conveniently forgot to ask for the doctor's permission first. Gibbs was sitting next to Ducky's bed, and looked over his shoulder to watch them enter. Palmer was sound asleep in the chair on the other side of Ducky's bed. Kate wheeled him up next to Gibbs. The boss tried not to blame Tony any more than he already had. Kate went back to Abby's room, after shooting Gibbs a 'be nice' look.

"" "" "" "" ""

Gibbs got up to leave. Tony had long since realized that Gibbs was avoiding him. He knew his boss blamed him for what happened to Ducky, and now, for Abby too. Tony knew his boss was right in holding him responsible, since he, too, felt that it was his fault. But he didn't want Gibbs to keep avoiding him

As Gibbs turned to leave, Tony spoke up. "Hey, Boss?" He started reluctantly, not looking at his boss. The leader stopped walking, but didn't face him. "I know you blame me for what's happened…" He said quietly, and tentatively. "You have every right to. It _is _my fault. But… there's nothing I can do about it now." Gibbs was listening, still not watching, but was listening. "You're the one I usually go to for support in this type of situation. And…" Tony was brokenhearted, and it was reflected in his voice. "Is it really necessary to avoid me?" He briefly looked at Gibbs. Gibbs still didn't make eye contact. "I mean… it's not like I am actively causing this." He was in the process of breaking down. He didn't like being rejected by the person he most looked up to. "I _am _the reason they're hurt, but… I'm…I'm not… actively… hurting them." He sounded vulnerable. He looked back at his leader for approval, and/or forgiveness. But, he didn't receive either.

Gibbs continued out of the room to get a refill on his coffee. Tony just sat silently watching his friend for a moment, then broke the silence. "I'm sorry, Ducky. Gibbs is right, I should've gotten you out first. It's my fault you're like this, Gibbs told me so. It's my fault about Abby, too. Kate and Abby say it's not, but Gibbs thinks it is. And… he's usually right about that sort of thing. I let her down, by allowing her to get shot. I let Gibbs down, both by not getting you out of the car, and by not protecting Abby, like I should've been. But, most importantly, Ducky, I let you down. I didn't get you out of that car, and now… and now, you might to die, because of it. I let you down…and…I'm sorry."

Gibbs had been standing just outside the door, thinking on what his senior field agent had told him, when Tony said that. He sighed, knowing that he was the reason Tony thought that. He stood there for a moment and really _looked _at Tony. The man looked awful. He could hear that the younger man was still struggling to breathe, even with the portable oxygen unit, and he looked totally defeated. Gibbs realized that that was probably largely his fault. The younger agent had always taken his cue from Gibbs and now the older man was sending every signal he could that this was Tony's fault. Gibbs realized that he needed to fix this…but right now, he just didn't have the strength. He took one more look at Tony and Ducky, then continued on his trek for some good coffee.

Tony continued sitting, staring at his unconscious companion. About a half an hour later, Gibbs returned with a half-drained cup of coffee, probably at least his second. He had, no doubt checked in on Abby first. Both men continued the silence, until the nursing staff, having finally located Tony's doctor and discovering that the man did not, indeed, have permission to camp out in Ducky's room ushered Tony back to his own room.

As Gibbs sat alone with his dearest friend, the older man, once again opened his eyes. Gibbs sat up, grasped his friend's hand and said, "Duck?"

Ducky, for his part, looked around the room again, confused, but this time, briefly made eye-contact with Gibbs before falling back to sleep again.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Part 12

The next day, about three days after the crash, McGee and Kate headed back to NCIS to process all the information they _did _have.

On the way to NCIS Kate, who was driving, said to McGee, "Hey, McGee?" She looked kinda freaked out.

"Yeah?"

"Isn't that…" She was looking in the rearview at a dark green truck, with a badly dented front bumper.

"…The guy that ran us off the bridge." He finished her sentence, and looked equally as freaked out.

"Get his license plate number." She told McGee. He had to get the pen from his pocket with his left hand, and started searching for some paper, Kate grabbed her cell phone, and called Gibbs. She was hoping that he had forgotten to turn it off.

As McGee searched for something to write the license number on, he stated. "You know, this won't stand up in court, considering the fact that we're getting the number _after_ the fact, and not at the scene."

"We can still use it track down this lunatic, and maybe find a possible motive." She sounded frantic, as well as impatient, that Gibbs wasn't answering his phone right away. McGee, couldn't find any paper anywhere, so wrote the license plate number, left-handed, on the cast on his right hand.. "H4F- 90PU" He read the license number as he scrawled it on his hand.

"" "" "" "' ""

Gibbs was still sitting silently in Ducky's room, when Palmer wheeled Tony back into Ducky's room after having finally obtained doctor's permission for another short visit. Since the doctor was basing his permission on whether or not Tony ate, the senior field agent was doing much better. He was still on the oxygen, but his body was stronger now, and the doctor had hopes that he would be able to function without the O2 soon. It had primarily been necessary because of how weak Tony was allowing his body to get through not eating.

Palmer had been in Abby's room, but eventually got too annoying, and she sent him out. So, he had visited Tony and had gotten conscripted to push Tony's wheelchair to the ICU .

While the three were sitting there, their older friend opened his eyes once more. Palmer noticed it first, and he started toward the patient. "Dr. Mallard?"

This alerted the others and Gibbs sat up closer to the bed. "Ducky?"

Tony felt almost as if he didn't deserve to talk to the man, so he sat still in his wheelchair and watched hopefully.

Ducky looked around the room again, less confused this time, Gibbs noticed. He made eye contact with each person, but quickly moved on to the next. He had started with Palmer, when the younger man had spoken, and then moved on to Gibbs when he had spoken. Even though Tony had stayed silent, Ducky made eye contact with him as well, briefly, but then quickly moved back to Gibbs. They stayed silent, looking at each other for another several moments, and Ducky fell back to sleep.

"" "" "" "" ""

Gibbs had his cell phone on vibrate. He wasn't allowed to have it on in the hospital, but, he didn't want it off with his agents out there, in case they needed to get in touch with him. The only reason it would ring was if Kate or McGee needed to get a hold of him. Their other cell phones were ruined in the car crash (that much water pretty much does the trick). The only people who knew his new number were Abby, Tony, Kate, and McGee. No one, other than Gibbs, really knew how he was able to get four new cell phones (one for each member of his team, himself included) that quickly, without leaving the hospital, and Gibbs wasn't about to reveal his secret.

His cell phone vibrated, and he dug it out of his pocket. They all knew that it had to be Kate or McGee, because both Abby and Tony, the only other people who knew his new number, were stuck in the hospital.

Gibbs flipped his phone open. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"Gibbs!" Kate sounded frantic.

"Kate." He paused long enough to put the phone on speaker, so Tony and Palmer could hear as well. "Calm down. What is it?"

"The truck…the one that ran us of the bridge… It's right behind us! Following us!"

"Calm down there, Kate." Tony was trying to help.

"I can't calm down, Tony! What if that guy tries to kill us again?!" She wasn't doing a good job at calming down.

"Hey!" Gibbs snapped, to bring everyone's attention back to what was happening. "Where are you?"

"Um… We're on highway 9, passing mile marker three eighty-nine." She said, slightly regaining her composure.

"Ok. Good. I'll send someone to…" Gibbs said trying to instill some confidence.

"No. It's too late for that. He's too close."

"Well, then, what are we supposed do?" Tony inquired.

"McGee's got the license plate number." She continued, with the calmest tone they had heard during the phone call. "We both got a pretty good look at the man. But, that will only help us if we survive long enough…" The two agents in the hospital room heard three consecutive gunshots, on the other end of the phone.

"Kate!" Tony shouted in panic. She didn't respond. The only thing they heard was the sound of tires squealing, followed by a loud crash.

"Kate?" Gibbs was worried. "Kate, can you hear me?" The older agent handed his phone to Tony, in case Kate or McGee responded. The leader barked an order to Palmer. "Get them to send an ambulance to highway 9, somewhere around mile marker 3-8-9," as he swiftly strode out of the room.

Palmer got up to comply, and Tony added, "Tell them there are two agents down, at that location." Palmer nodded and immediately carried out the order.

While the M.E.'s assistant was trying to get the injured agents some help, Tony heard another vehicle approach, from over the cell phone, and pull over next to the agents' car, by the sound of it. They heard a car door, far enough away that they figured that it was the second vehicle.

"I need to speak to Anthony DiNozzo." The gruff voice came from the other end of the phone.

"You've got him." Tony said reluctantly.

"You can say good-bye to your precious little friends here." He said maliciously.


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimers: See Part 1

Part 13

"What did you do to them?" Tony asked, not necessarily wanting to know. _"I just hope they're not dead. There really is no other possibility though. We all heard the gunshots, then the crash, which probably meant that Kate lost control of the vehicle, probably because she was hit. Crap! They __**are**__ dead, aren't they? How else would this guy get Kate's phone? And why don't we hear her and McGee? No! They are NOT dead. They're just unconscious. That would explain everything too." _Tony's thought process was jerked back to reality.

"I got rid of them." The man sounded proud of his work. "Just like _you _did to the people _I _cared about. You hurt me, and took away everyone I cared about. Now, you're gonna pay."

"I'm sorry if I did anything to…"

" 'Sorry'? I trusted you. You betrayed me, Tomm-Tony. You…" He was obviously trying to choose his words carefully, so as not to let the agent know who he was. "I will hunt down, and kill everyone who's important to you. Then, when you have no one left, and you _finally _feel like I do, I'm comin' for you." The agents heard a click as the line went dead.

Gibbs had come back in the room by the end of the conversation, after having called NCIS for back-up for Kate and McGee from the nurse's station. "You recognize his voice?" Gibbs was grasping at straws trying to find this nut-job.

"I-I don't know. It doesn't sound familiar, at least not off the top of my head." Tony was trying to help, but wasn't really getting anywhere.

"What about what he was talking about? Does the scenario sound familiar?"

"I don't know. He didn't really give me much to go by."

"Think, DiNozzo! We _need _to catch this guy!" Gibbs exploded.

"I know!" Tony hung his head, feeling like he had let his friends down, once again.

"" "" "" "" ""

Tony didn't really feel he needed the wheelchair any more. He could feel that he was much stronger after a couple of days of eating well, but it was one of the things the doctor insisted on, so the wheelchair bound man had gotten Jimmy to take him back to Abby's room, so he could let her know what had happened, and see if she could help. But, the subconscious reason why he left Ducky's room in the first place was to get away from the pressure Gibbs was putting on him to find this guy.

Several hours later, and no more blanks were filled in. The Doctor entered Abby's hospital room, to let them know how their friends were.

"How are they?" Tony asked eagerly.

"McGee is going to be fine. He didn't get shot at all. He sustained a mild head injury, again, probably in the crash after Kate lost control of the car. He's got another superficial gash on his temple and has a concussion, this time, but he should be fine."

"And Kate?" Abby asked reluctantly.

The doctor inhaled deeply, like he was trying to choose his words carefully, so as not to upset them any more than absolutely necessary. "Her injuries were far more severe. She received a gunshot wound to the back of the left shoulder. It was angled downward and grazed her heart. She had lost a great deal of blood by the time we got her here, and she arrested twice," the doctor paused when he heard Abby gasp, but was quick to continue, "But, we repaired the damage to her heart and have transfused her, so she's stable now. She's still unconscious, but should be fine with time and rest."

Even though this was relatively good news, Abby was just overwhelmed by all that had happened to her friends in the last several days, and was now close to tears. Tony didn't say anything, but he was obviously beating himself up over it.

"Can we go see them?" Abby knew that question was on Tony's mind as well.

The doctor smiled a knowing smile. He had anticipated this question. All of the NCIS people habitually wanted to be together. It was giving him an ulcer because of how many hospital rules he was breaking for them, but this one he could solve rather easily. "We're arranging for her to be brought in here. She's in pretty bad shape, but she's stable enough not to need ICU. There's no one in the other bed in here, so this will consolidate things for you all a little bit."

Abby smiled a little at that. At least she'd be able to keep and eye on Kate.

She and Tony waited for 10 or 15 minutes for the staff to get Kate up on the floor and settled into the bed beside Abby's. As soon as the nurse left after taking Kate's vitals. Tony awkwardly maneuvered himself to the edge of Kate's bed and took her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Kate." Tony said softly. Abby looked at him, knowing that he blamed himself, but she wanted to hear his reasoning. Gibbs showed up in the doorway, no doubt, to check up on Kate, and heard Tony as he continued. "It's my fault. Apparently, I did something to this guy, and the people he cared about. And he's paying me back for it, by trying to get rid of the people _I_ care about."

"That's hardly your fault." Abby started, but Tony wasn't listening to reason this time…not that he really had been before this either.

"I should just quit!" He interrupted.

"What?! No!" Abby hadn't seen this coming.

"Why not?" Tony finally turned his attention to Abby. "This job is getting my friends hurt. If I quit, this guy will have no reason to continue to hurt you guys."

"That's not exactly true. This guy is obviously a nut-job. His point is to hurt the people you _care_ about, not just the people you work with. So…how do you think this will help? Is he gonna just stop hurting the people you care about, just because you're no longer working with them? Are you just going to suddenly stop caring about us, just because you don't work at NCIS?" She was trying to be the voice of reason, but Tony wasn't listening.

"She's right. It won't do any good." Gibbs stated from the doorway.

Tony hadn't really even noticed Gibbs standing there before, but couldn't help putting a negative spin on what the older man was saying. _"The first time he's spoken to me, since blaming me for Ducky, and he's telling me that nothing I can do is gonna help?!" _Tony thought. "Well, too bad! Because, I quit!" He stood up to face his boss, nearly knocking the chair over. He decided he didn't need the damned thing any more, anyway

"Well, you can't." Gibbs stated candidly.

"Why not?!" He was still furious, partly at Gibbs, as well as partly at himself and at the nut-case that was doing this."This is the only way I can keep everyone safe!"

"Look DiNozzo," Gibbs' voice was rigid with anger, "If you caused this, then you need to fix it."

"That's what I'm _trying_ to do!"

"No you're not, you damned coward. You're running away! You can't fix this by quitting, and you don't get to run away from this. Abby and Kate can't run away from it. Ducky _sure_ as hell can't, so you don't get to either. You get your ass back on the job and find this guy. _That_ will fix it!"

"Fine! But, once this guy is behind bars, I quit! I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me." He waited for Gibbs to acknowledge his statement, but when he didn't, Tony stormed out of the hospital room, and went to find McGee's room.

"Are you really gonna let him quit?" Abby asked.

"First of all, it's not my decision. But, most importantly, by the time all of this is over, he will have had a chance to clear his head, and I don't think he'll actually want to quit. He's just acting on impulses right now. He feels responsible for what happened, so he's doing the only thing he has total control over, and that's ending his current job." Gibbs explained.

Abby nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, you haven't helped much in the 'blaming himself department', Gibbs. You don't _actually_ think he caused this, do you?"

"No. But, right now, _he_ does."

"Because you _told_ him it was his fault!"

"I know," Gibbs said _almost_ apologetically. "We'll figure this thing out a lot faster if he's helping. Because he's got the knowledge of who is doing this; he just doesn't know it yet."


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Part 14

Tony had gone straight to the nurse's station when he had stormed out of Abby's room, and had demanded to see his doctor. As soon as the man had gotten there, Tony announced that he was leaving the hospital, either with the doctor's permission, or AMA. It really hadn't mattered to Tony which way it was. The doctor couldn't, in good conscious, release this patient, since he still didn't like the sound of the man's respirations, even though Tony was refusing more and more often to use the oxygen anyway. So, Tony signed papers that he was leaving the hospital against medical advice and went to NCIS to start pouring through his old cases, all the way back to Peoria. He _would_ find this man. He _refused_ to let his friends down yet again.

"" "" "" "" ""

McGee was finally declared strong enough to visit Kate and Abby in their room. The doctor figured 'why not?' The hospital rule book had gone out the window a _long_ time ago with regard to these people. He would certainly be glad to see the last one healthy and out of his hospital! Gibbs had left just after Tony had, and Abby confided in McGee that she really didn't think having the two of them alone at NCIS, or much of any place else, actually, was really a good idea at the time. But there wasn't much either of them could do about it. Neither McGee, Kate, nor Abby were discharged from the hospital, and in Kate's case, at least, weren't likely to be anytime soon. They had both forgotten that Palmer was still in the hospital, but Abby decided that, even though Jimmy could be annoying, both she and McGee liked him too much to turn him loose with Gibbs and Tony in the moods they were currently in. So, the two friends sat together in relative silence, and watched their colleague sleep, while Palmer did the same for Ducky.

"" "" "" "" "" "" ""

At NCIS, Gibbs and Tony were intensely involved in their own research. Officially, they weren't the team assigned to the case, but the leader of that team knew better than to tell Gibbs what he could and could not research, and quite frankly, since the case was going no where, the lead agent was grateful for the help. So, the main investigative team was off doing their own research, leaving Gibbs and Tony alone. After a long period of time, Tony broke the silence with a seemingly random comment. "Tommy." Gibbs gave him a look that said, 'What on Earth are you talking about?'

He tried to explain. "The man on Kate's cell phone. He started to call me 'Tommy'." Gibbs was obviously trying to recall the phone conversation. Tony continued. "He said, 'You betrayed me Tomm- Tony.'" When there was nothing said, Tony continued, "So, that got me thinking. When I was a cop in Baltimore, I was sent undercover, to get close to this crime family that was suspected of committing a whole list of crimes, but no one could ever pin anything on them, because there was never enough evidence to back it, or if there was, it mysteriously disappeared from lock up or any witness we managed to find mysteriously disappeared." He looked at his colleague as if he expected him to know the significance of that. It was a testimony to just how tired Gibbs must be that he obviously didn't see the connection right away, so Tony continued. "My cover name was Tommy Riggs. I got close to the teenager in the family. The kid really trusted me, and when I had enough evidence on his family, I had to call for some back up, and arrest 'em. A _lot_ of the people he cared about," He paused to let those words sink in and click, as a match to what the man on the phone had said. He then continued. "…were killed during the arrest. The others were thrown in jail with life sentences. The kid _really_ hated me for it. Said at the time that I had betrayed him, that I had earned his trust and misused it." That got the reaction Tony had been expecting. "The kid's name was Willy Blake."

Gibbs told Tony to find a photo of the guy, so that they could show it to McGee. Kate had said on the cell phone that they both had gotten a good look at the man. Tony had already started the search while he had been talking to Gibbs, and soon had the photo up on the plasma screen, as well as being printed out. Gibbs grabbed the print out and both agents were in the elevator, on the way back to the hospital.

"" "" "" "" "" ""

Gibbs and Tony rushed into the hospital room shared by Abby and Kate, knowing that that was where they'd find McGee, and handed him the picture. McGee was quick to confirm that this was indeed the man who had shot at them and run them off the road, so Gibbs was back on the phone with the NCIS team in charge of the case. He had given up on the "no cell phones in the hospital" thing. Tony had gone over to sit with Kate, apologizing once again, but telling her that they now might have a lead, while McGee and Abby talked among themselves.

He blinked in surprise when Kate groggily opened her eyes. "Kate!" He expressed his enthusiasm.

"Hi, Tony." She winced when a pain shot through her body.

"Kate!" Abby was so excited that she didn't even think about her own injuries as she tried to lunge out of bed. McGee narrowly stopped her before she could aggravate the healing incisions.

Kate noticed the situation and called a weak "Hi, Abby" across the room.

"Hi, Kate." McGee made his presence known.

"McGee. Did you tell them the license plate number?"

"Kinda hard not to." He held up his right arm, and showed her the license plate number that was written on his cast."

Gibbs, who was apparently on hold, but still on the phone, said, "Yeah, we're running it. They don't have a match on the license plate number yet. But, Willy Blake's brother, Stephen, died in prison, about a week ago."

"That would be why he's suddenly striking now." Tony thought out loud. "He was especially close to Stephen, if I remember correctly."

Gibbs, Abby, and McGee all nodded in agreement. Kate, who was still out of the loop, wanted to know what they were talking about. "What?" She asked.

"Oh, right." Tony said, realizing that they hadn't actually told Kate yet.

"We've got a lead." McGee inserted.

"One of Tony's undercover cases when he was a cop in Baltimore." Abby started out with what was sure to be the extremely detailed version of the story, so Tony took pity on his injured friend and bullet-pointed the rest of the story for Kate while handing her the picture of Willy Blake.

"Oh. Ok." Kate said, trying to wrap her head around everything. "That _is_ the guy."

"" "" "" "" ""

A few hours later, Abby, McGee, and Tony were all still in Kate's hospital room. Gibbs had had a BOLO put out on the truck, and had someone trying to find Willy's address, or known hangouts.

Gibbs peeked his head into the room from around the corner. "Come on, DiNozzo. Let's go."

"Where we goin', boss?" Tony asked as he stood up to follow him.

"We got a hit on the BOLO. It was found outside Blake's house."

"Yeah. Let's go." The two of them turned to leave the room.

"Hey!" Kate snapped at them. They stopped and turned back around, which was her goal. "Wear vests." She commanded.

"Good point." Tony stated. Gibbs just nodded his agreement, as the two of them continued on their way.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Part 15

The NCIS car pulled up in front of a small blue-ish house with peeling paint and broken shutters. "Let's take this bastard down." Gibbs ordered as he clicked off the vehicle.

"Uh… Boss, maybe I should go in first, try and talk him down." Tony suggested, not wanting Willie to hurt any more of his friends.

"Out of the question."

"I spent some time with this kid, boss. I know how he thinks."

"That was a long time ago, DiNozzo. He's obviously not listening to reason."

"I don't want him to be able to hurt any more of the people I care about."

"I'm going, DiNozzo." He got out of the car. "Live with it." He shut the car door.

Tony sighed. "Yeah. I just hope _you _can." He said under his breath, before he exited the vehicle, and fell in step with his boss.

Gibbs started around the back of the house, as he motioned Tony to take the front. Tony got into position at the front door, with his weapon drawn, giving his boss time enough to get into position around the back of the house. He kicked down the door, and cautiously entered the house. He heard a loud clatter in the back of the house. He quickly scanned the rooms in the front, then rushed to the back to offer assistance to his boss, if necessary.

As he warily entered the room, he saw his boss's side arm on the floor. As he continued further into the room, he saw other signs of a struggle; broken table, and vases, overturned chairs. His eyes were then drawn to Willie who had one arm wrapped around the unarmed Gibbs, restricting his movement. The man's other hand was clutching a pistol that was aimed at the older NCIS agent's head. Tony didn't know if it was a testimony to just how much sleep Gibbs had lost over the last several days or how completely irrational Willie was that the perp was able to disarm Gibbs, but it had happened, and now Tony was facing the nightmare scenario he had hoped to avoid at all cost.

"Willie!" Tony shouted as he snapped into position with his weapon aimed at Willie.

"You're too late, Tony." Willie stated.

"I'm the one you want. Let him go. You can do whatever you want with me." Tony was desperate to save his friend. Willie hadn't interrupted him yet, so he continued. "Let Gibbs go. Tie him up and leave him here, if you need to, and call for help once we're on the road. He won't follow, and you can take me anywhere you want, and do anything you feel you need to. Just don't hurt anyone else, Willie. _They_ didn't hurt your family. I did."

Willie seemed to honestly be considering it when Gibbs shouted. "No! DiNozzo, I'm not gonna let you do that."

"Why not, boss? That would save the important people in this whole scenario. I'm expendable." Figuring that should have laid to rest any complaint Gibbs still had, Tony turned his attention to Willie. "I'm sorry about what I had to do all those years ago, Willie. But, this is not the way to handle it."

"What, so it's okay for _you_ to take away the people _I _care about, but it's not okay for meto do the same to you?"

"I was following orders. Your family was involved in some pretty nasty, illegal stuff. I had a duty to stop them."

"They're all dead!"

"That wasn't my fault. We tried to arrest them without bloodshed. When your family fired on the cops, the officers had no choice but to return fire."

"Just, shoot him, DiNozzo!" Gibbs demanded. "Stop all the molly-coddling. It's not going to work anyway."

"You shoot me, and I will shoot your boss!" Willie shouted.

"But, you'd be dead." Tony said as calmly as possible. "How can you enjoy your revenge if you're dead?"

"That's the way this is going to end up anyway. If I let your boss go, even if I tie him up like you said, they'll be after me as soon as he gets loose. And it wouldn't take him long to get loose, I can tell. I'm surprised I even got the drop on him to begin with. They'd come after us and I'd be dead anyway."

Tony could tell Willie was becoming more and more agitated, but he felt he needed to keep him talking. "Maybe, Willie. But, think about it. At least you'd be able to kill me first. That's who you really want."

"If I kill you, this guy would make sure I died slowly. I don't think he's the kind that puts up with someone killing his people."

"All the people that matter to Gibbs are still alive. He's not going to care one way or the other about me, Willie. I screwed up, and he's just going to cut me loose anyway. Granted, he probably wouldn't actually _kill_ me, but I really don't think he'd care if _you _did. As long as you leave the rest of the team alone. You'd have to promise about that."

Gibbs looked like he'd been punched in the gut, but Tony didn't notice. He was too busy trying to get his boss out of this alive to care about the older man's reaction, even if he _had_ noticed.

"What then? After I kill you? I have no one left. Everyone I cared about is dead, because of YOU!" He rammed the gun into Gibbs' temple. Tony could tell he was losing this argument, and he couldn't stand the idea of letting his boss down yet again.

"Just let him go." Tony pleaded.

"Just shoot him, Tony." Gibbs demanded.

"Maybe I should just shoot _you_." Willie thrust the gun at Tony and the NCIS agent saw his chance. He knew, as soon as the gun came away from Gibbs' head, the older man would be out of Willie's grip. Tony took that chance to shoot, now that he could safely do so without getting Gibbs killed. He pulled the trigger, and Willie followed suit. All three people fell to the ground.

Gibbs had pulled out of Willie's grip, just as Tony had known he would, and now rolled up onto his knees. Willie was lying nearby with a hole in his head. That would have been the clearest shot. Had the situation been reversed, Gibbs would have taken the head shot with Tony still in the perp's grip. He'd have to talk to Tony later about the hesitation.

At the thought of his senior agent, Gibbs finally looked over to where Tony had fallen, honestly expecting him to stand back up at any moment. He didn't. Once Gibbs got to Tony's side, he found that the younger man had been shot in the chest…a little too high to actually hit the heart, Gibbs thought…but the man was still losing a lot of blood.

The silver-haired agent called for a squad car and an ambulance, and started to do what he could for Tony.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs tried to get the man's attention as he pressed his handkerchief into the chest wound. Tony hadn't immediately responded to his name, but moaned in pain at the pressure. "DiNozzo! You open your damned eyes and talk to me!"

Tony, as always, did what Gibbs told him to do. A weak, 'Gibbs' was all he could manage, at first. Gibbs could see the effort that Tony was putting into following this order. The younger man finally managed to turn his head to look at his boss.

"Did we get him?" Any other questions Tony may have had were cut off by a fit of coughing.

"Yeah. Yeah, you got him, DiNozzo." Gibbs was still applying pressure on the now soaked handkerchief and was debating the relative merits of ceasing the pressure long enough to take off his jacket to use that as a bandage instead.

Tony continued, without realizing Gibbs' dilemma. "At least no one important was hurt, this time, boss."

"Damn it, DiNozzo! You just shut the hell up with that kind of talk. Of _course_ you're important! And you didn't cause any of this, either. It's not your fault! None of it! Not Kate and McGee or Abby, or even Ducky! It's NOT your fault!"

"But you said…"

"Occasionally, Tony, even _I'm_ wrong!"

"You're admitting to being wrong?...I must be dying!" Tony tried for humor, but just ended up coughing again.

"You're not dying, and if you repeat that I said I was wrong, I'll deny it!" Gibbs _was_ capable of humor, also. It was usually just not recognizable as such. Tony recognized it, though, and was grateful. He really wasn't sure he _wasn't_ dying and he'd much rather go out laughing…well, _trying_ to laugh, anyway. Somewhere between trying to laugh and trying _not_ to cough up a lung, Tony, gratefully, lost consciousness.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

A/N, Warnings, Disclaimer: See Part 1

Part 16

Tony woke up in a hospital bed…again. McGee and Gibbs were both in his room. "Hi boss. Guess you didn't get that field promotion yet, Probie. Apparently I lived."

McGee ignored the inappropriate humor, and Gibbs came to stand closer to Tony's bed.

"Welcome back, DiNozzo!"

"Guess it wasn't as bad as I thought, huh?"

"Bad enough. They had to operate to get the bullet, and you lost a lot of blood, but the wound was a lot higher than I had thought it was. It missed your heart completely. Since your shoulder was already torn up, you're gonna have trouble using it for a while, but you should be back bugging the shit out of all of us before you know it."

"You mean I still have a job?" Tony's tone was as serious as McGee had ever heard it, and the younger man took that as his cue to leave the room, claiming the urgent need to tell Abby and Kate that Tony was awake.

Gibbs waited until they were alone, and said. "Of _course_ you have a job, Tony. Why wouldn't you?"

"Well, I had said that once we had the guy behind bars, I'd be out of your hair."

"Actually, what you said was that you would quit, and technically, the guy isn't behind bars. He's dead."

Tony smirked. "Guess I don't have to quit, then, huh?"

Gibbs actually grinned a little, so Tony continued. "So boss. At the scene, when I was bleeding and all, I _think_ I heard you _almost_ apologize!"

Gibbs smirked at that and replied. "You must have been delirious."

Tony knew that was all he was going to get. Gibbs admitted once that he was wrong about any of this being Tony's fault and he wasn't going to repeat it. But, he really didn't need to. Tony heard it the first time, and that was all that mattered.

"" "" "" "" "" "" ""

The next couple of days saw some changes. Abby and Kate were released from the hospital, but of course, wouldn't be returning to work for a while, so they hung out in Tony's room until Ducky was finally moved from the ICU. He was still on oxygen, and his heart was constantly being monitored, but he was stable. Unfortunately, he was also still mostly unconscious.

"" "" "" "" "" "" ""

The day finally came that Tony was allowed out of his room, albeit only if he used a wheelchair, and he wanted his first stop to be Ducky's room.

"How's is he?" Tony asked Palmer as Gibbs pushed him into the room.

"He's waking up more and more, and staying awake longer, but, we still don't know if he remembers anything." Palmer answered from his place at Ducky's bedside.

From the doorway, Gibbs noticed when his old friend opened his eyes.

"Hey, Ducky." Gibbs moved toward the older man's bedside as Palmer vacated the chair situated there.

Ducky maintained eye contact him, tracking Gibbs as he walked across the room, even as Palmer moved to the doorway to help Tony to the other side of the bed. Tony sat silently in his wheelchair, watching as he was moved.

Ducky weakly raised his hand and shakily pointed it toward Gibbs. He only managed to lift it about a half and inch, and it almost instantly dropped again, but he had purposefully moved it in the direction he was looking. He finally, after much effort, opened his mouth, took a few deep breaths, and weakly said, "Jeth-ro"

"Hey, Duck." Tony and Palmer had only seen the tender side of Gibbs when dealing with children, but his voice now was caring and encouraging.

Ducky, still very weak, soon fell unconscious again, but, they now knew that he remembered them…or at least he remembered Gibbs. They knew that it would be a long, difficult road to recovering, but at least they now thought he_ would_ recover. They also knew that all of them would be right there with their friend on his journey, however long it may be.

Tony sat back in his wheelchair and looked around the room. Gibbs looked more peaceful than he had since this whole mess started, and Tony felt _much_ more relaxed now. He had the approval of his boss again, his friends (_all_ of them it would seem) were on the road to recovery, and all was right with the world. He still might not like all the choices he had been forced to make in the last week or so, but it _finally_ looked like maybe they hadn't been such bad ones after all.

End


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